Surprised its taken Ferarri this long

Seriously, they've let Alonso slag them off for so long I can't believe Di Montezemolo took this much time to call enough.

http://m.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/23495111

Every driver, when he doesn't win, talks about the team and the car, but if you look at Hamilton for instance he always speaks in the collective first person, and keeps it positive. Alonso has been so keen to promote this ridiculous 'samurai' identity he's given himself that he's been slating the car for ages. The message, not subtle at all, is "aren't I great to do well in this heap?".

He should look at the performance of Schumacher, who joined Ferrari when they were in the doldrums and played a stunning part in bringing the whole team forward. He wasn't just a driver, he was everything to that group. It took years during which time Schumacher was inseparable from the team. Why not try to live up to that example rather than distancing himself from them? Di Montezemo was surely thinking of this when he said "all the great champions who have driven for Ferrari have always been asked to put the interests of the team above their own."

Perhaps he should commit Seppuku? It would be the honourable way for the self-styled Samurai.

Just frustration at seeing his career being unfulfilled. His career has promised so much, he's the best all-round driver in F1, yet he's only bagged two-world titles and none at Ferrari. Watching Vettel dominate the sport is difficult to watch, especially if you see yourself as a superior driver. Hamilton's had issues throughout his career too along with other drivers and the constant media coverage and interviews that a driver has to endure, promotes the chances of something negative or derogatory being said about an inferior car that isn't winning.

Yeah, he shouldn't have said some things but it's only human to express your emotions and disappointment in a team or car that they have promised will give you the best chance of winning a world championship. Alonso is Ferrari currently, without him over the last few years they would of been struggling immensely in both Driver & Constructor Championships and that's a fact.

They will sit down over the break and the situation will be sorted. Alonso is only 39 points behind Vettel and we are at the half way point in the Championship. Motivation should not be a problem for such a professional outfit. With James Allison on board, the future looks promising too.

Blurting out something once is understandable, my point is he does it consistently. Schumacher got into the work with the guys and was as close to a design engineer as a driver could be. He also sacrificed a few years after winning the title elsewhere but he was ultimately rewarded.

And is he the best driver? Really? What metric do we use, other than the one he's designed for everyone that he's driving a heap? Do you see the comment in that article that Ferrari feel he personally underperforms in qualifying? Now if that car was qualifying in the top 2/4 consistently, and with the unquestionably great race pace it had throughout 2012, what's the problem?

No, that's really not a fact. It's Fernandos lobby, driven like a nail through the media and accepted as fact by many of the public. He's even got his "cover" of a bunny as 2nd driver, unlike the pairing at RB and Mercedes.

Did get tiresome hearing Alonso say the car was uncompetitive after every race last season

GSC wrote:Did get tiresome hearing Alonso say the car was uncompetitive after every race last season

Yup.

Well, I think we've seen from qualifying that the Ferrari doesn't have the outright pace of the Red Bulls, or even the Mercedes...though in race trim it tends to look more competitive.

Given that Massa has often out-qualified Alonso recently, you could say that Nando maybe doesn't deliver all that he could in qualifying - but then you don't get points for qualifying. Jenson Button is another driver who tends to qualify poorly, but make up places during the race.

Overall, I'd say the Ferrari is a pretty handy car...just look at the blistering starts both drivers got at Monza, with Massa forcing Vettel into a massive lock up, going into the first corner.

Unfortunately, its just not quite as good an overall package as the Red Bull, which can do the business over a full weekend.

I think both Alonso and the team need to accept they need to raise their game somehow. I'm sure both feel like they're giving their all, but Red Bull (Adrian Newey) and Vettel have set the bar higher than anyone has before and its up to everyone else to catch up.

Massa has outqualified ALonso on 4 times this year, the first 2 races and twice in the last 4. So when you say that given Massa has often outqualified Alonso, its factually wrong.

He tried not to at Monza but couldn't help it.